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1918: RAF is formed
On 1 April 1918, the Royal Air Force (RAF) is formed with the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. At the outbreak of the First World War, Germany took the lead in air strategy and England suffered bombing raids and frustration in the skies against German flying aces such as Manfred von Richthofen, The Red Baron. However, by the war's end, the RAF had gained air superiority along the Western Front. Two decades later, the courage and effectiveness of the RAF would prove legendary during the Battle of Britain, thwarting Adolf Hitler's invasion plans for Britain despite being outnumbered by the German air force.
2006
In Britain, The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) formally starts work.2001
Ex-Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milosevic is arrested in Belgrade.2000
The Enigma coding machine, used by Germany to code its messages during the Second World War, is stolen from its display cabinet at Bletchley Park Museum in England.
1999
The minimum wage is introduced in Britain.1990
In Manchester, England inmates at Strangeways Prison start a riot and a siege which lasts for 25 days.1983
Thousands of anti-nuclear protesters form a human chain 14 miles long in the south of England.1975
Apple Computers is formed in America.1946
The Malayan Union is formed.1945
The Second World War: U.S. troops land on Okinawa, Japan.